A hat-trick from Shebo sank tiny Malta in a friendly match in Bratislava yesterday evening as Slovakia won 3-0.

It was the fourth defeat at the hands of our opponents in five matches following three Slovak wins and a draw in the previous four matches.

Shebo scored his first goal on 31 minutes as Slovakia enjoyed a minimal lead at the interval.

On the changeover, the home side took command and it was no surprise they added two further goals on 75 and 90 minutes – the scorer on both occasions again being Shebo.

The match came soon after the end of a 10-day training camp in the Czech Republic. Both the training camp and yesterday’s match were held in preparation for Malta’s two opening Euro 2008 qualifying games next month against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey.